Suspect Yolanda McDowell, 45, of Durant St., Stamford is arraigned on Monday April 21, 2014 at state superior court in Stamford, Conn in last night's hit-and-run that killed a 70-year-old woman.Victim was mother of SPD 2002 Officer of the Year Angel Gonzales.

Suspect Yolanda McDowell, 45, of Durant St., Stamford is arraigned on Monday April 21, 2014 at state superior court in Stamford, Conn in last night's hit-and-run that killed a 70-year-old woman.Victim was

Suspect Yolanda McDowell, 45, of Durant St., Stamford is arraigned on Monday April 21, 2014 at state superior court in Stamford, Conn in last night's hit-and-run that killed a 70-year-old woman.Victim was mother of SPD 2002 Officer of the Year Angel Gonzales. less

Suspect Yolanda McDowell, 45, of Durant St., Stamford is arraigned on Monday April 21, 2014 at state superior court in Stamford, Conn in last night's hit-and-run that killed a 70-year-old woman.Victim was ... more

Photo: Dru Nadler

Image 3 of 12

Suspect Yolanda McDowell, 45, of Durant St., Stamford is arraigned on Monday April 21, 2014 at state superior court in Stamford, Conn in last night's hit-and-run that killed a 70-year-old woman.Victim was mother of SPD 2002 Officer of the Year Angel Gonzales. less

Suspect Yolanda McDowell, 45, of Durant St., Stamford is arraigned on Monday April 21, 2014 at state superior court in Stamford, Conn in last night's hit-and-run that killed a 70-year-old woman.Victim was ... more

Photo: Dru Nadler

Image 4 of 12

Suspect Yolanda McDowell, 45, of Durant St., Stamford is arraigned on Monday April 21, 2014 at state superior court in Stamford, Conn in last night's hit-and-run that killed a 70-year-old woman.Victim was mother of SPD 2002 Officer of the Year Angel Gonzales. less

Suspect Yolanda McDowell, 45, of Durant St., Stamford is arraigned on Monday April 21, 2014 at state superior court in Stamford, Conn in last night's hit-and-run that killed a 70-year-old woman.Victim was ... more

Photo: Dru Nadler

Image 5 of 12

Image 6 of 12

Suspect Yolanda McDowell, 45, of Durant St., Stamford is arraigned on Monday April 21, 2014 at state superior court in Stamford, Conn in last night's hit-and-run that killed a 70-year-old woman.Victim was mother of SPD 2002 Officer of the Year Angel Gonzales. less

Suspect Yolanda McDowell, 45, of Durant St., Stamford is arraigned on Monday April 21, 2014 at state superior court in Stamford, Conn in last night's hit-and-run that killed a 70-year-old woman.Victim was ... more

Photo: Dru Nadler

Image 7 of 12

Yolanda McDowell, 45, of Stamford, was charged Sunday, April 20, 2014 with killing an elderly woman in a hit-and-run crash Sunday night on Woodland Avenue in Stamford, Conn..

Yolanda McDowell, 45, of Stamford, was charged Sunday, April 20, 2014 with killing an elderly woman in a hit-and-run crash Sunday night on Woodland Avenue in Stamford, Conn..

The minivan that Yolanda McDowell is alleged to have been driving when police said she struck and killed a 70-year-old woman sits in the Stamford Police Department lot in Stamford, Conn. on MondayApril 21, 2014. Sgt. Andrew Gallagher stands at right.

The minivan that Yolanda McDowell is alleged to have been driving when police said she struck and killed a 70-year-old woman sits in the Stamford Police Department lot in Stamford, Conn. on MondayApril 21,

A small hatchback that suffered front-end damage when it was allegedly struck head-on by Yolanda McDowell, 45, of Stamford, sits in the lot of the Stamford Police Department in Stamford, Conn. on Monday April 21, 2014. Police said McDowell was driving the minivan at right when she allegedly struck and killed a 70-year-old woman who was crossing the street, and the hatchback, which had stopped to let the woman cross the street. less

A small hatchback that suffered front-end damage when it was allegedly struck head-on by Yolanda McDowell, 45, of Stamford, sits in the lot of the Stamford Police Department in Stamford, Conn. on Monday April ... more

Police say 70-year-old Margarita Gonzalez was crossing Woodland Ave on Sunday April 20, 2014 when she was hit by Yolanda McDowell and was thrown under the front bumper of a parked white pickup truck parked on the south side of the street in Stamford, Conn. less

Police say 70-year-old Margarita Gonzalez was crossing Woodland Ave on Sunday April 20, 2014 when she was hit by Yolanda McDowell and was thrown under the front bumper of a parked white pickup truck parked on ... more

STAMFORD -- A Stamford judge set a $250,000 court appearance bond for a woman with 51 criminal convictions, who allegedly drove away from the scene of an accident after striking and killing the 70-year-old mother of a decorated Stamford police officer in the evening of Easter Sunday.

Police said Yolanda McDowell, 45, of 69 Durant St., Stamford, was found by police at her home about an hour after the accident and charged with second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle while intoxicated, and felony leaving the scene of an accident. McDowell, who borrowed the car she was driving in to pick up some Easter baskets for her kids, was held overnight by police and arraigned a little after noon Monday.

Judge Thomas Colin said if she was able to post bond, McDowell must do it at the courthouse and let a judge know beforehand. If she does post bond, Colin said McDowell must remain under house arrest if released and cannot drive a car.

"The defendant is not allowed to drive, period," Colin said.

As McDowell appeared in a doorway moments before she was to face the judge, a female family member burst into loud sobs and walked out of the courtroom. Before going out the door, the woman yelled out, "I love you, Yolanda."

At the end of the hearing as reporters were asking McDowell's family to comment, the same woman loudly said, "We don't want to say nothing. We don't know nothing," before walking out of the courthouse.

Police said 70-year-old Margarita Gonzalez was crossing Woodland Avenue just before 6:48 p.m. when McDowell, driving a 2002 Chrysler Voyager minivan west on Woodland Avenue, crossed over the double yellow line into the eastbound lane to pass two cars that had stopped in the street to allow Gonzalez to cross the road.

Police said Gonzalez was leaving a relative's home at 10 Woodland Ave., and was walking from the north side of the street to the south side where her car was parked when she was struck by McDowell. Witnesses said McDowell was driving so fast and struck Gonzalez with such force that the elderly woman was flung through the air and her shoes knocked off as she was thrown to the curb.

Police said after hitting Gonzalez and throwing her shoeless under the front bumper of a white pickup truck parked on the south side of the street, McDowell continued westbound in the oncoming lane and crashed head-on into a 2008 Nissan Versa, which had also stopped in the road to let Gonzalez cross the street, police said.

One female witness told police she saw the elderly woman move her left hand, but did not see her move again.

Police officials said Monday morning that Gonzales is the mother of an 18-year police department veteran, Angel Gonzalez, who was the department's Officer of the Year in 2002 and currently works in one of three detective squads investigating major crimes in Stamford.

After being struck by the minivan, the 27-year-old woman driving the Nissan Versa saw McDowell put the minivan in reverse. The woman said she jumped out of the Versa to keep the minivan from leaving the scene, but moved to the side of the road when the minivan started driving toward her.

"I actually stood in front of the van, but it started coming forward toward me and I got scared and moved out of the way," she said in a statement to police, contained in McDowell's court file. The Nissan driver then yelled to a woman driving one of the other cars that had stopped to let Gonzalez cross the road and told her to follow the fleeing minivan.

That 42-year-old woman then followed the minivan south on Atlantic Street and onto Washington Boulevard. When the minivan slowed down for a red light on Pulaski Street, the woman following her said she dialed 911 and told the dispatcher the license plate on the minivan was 460XKW.

The woman driving the car said she was angry at the minivan driver for knocking the older woman to the ground and chased her to be able to get the license plate number, her statement said.

With the license plate number, police went to the home of its registered owner on Selleck Street, but the owner and car were not there, a police report of the investigation said.

About 30 minutes later, police discovered the owner had a "known associate" living at 69 Durant St.

When police got to the house on Durant Street and looked in the driveway, they spotted a blue Voyager minivan with the license plate they were looking for parked all the way at the end of the driveway with its nose pulled up against a fence. Officers immediately saw a trail from an engine fluid leak along the driveway and damage to the Voyager's front end.

In his police report, Sgt. Anthony Lupinacci said he went to the back door and knocked, and a man answered. Then a woman came out and asked what they wanted. The woman, who turned out to be McDowell, first said her name was Cynthia.

Lupinacci asked McDowell if she had been driving the car and she said she had. When she was asked if she was driving and had an accident, McDowell said "yes." When Lupinacci asked McDowell if she was positive she had had an accident and left the scene, she said, "I was driving, but you can't arrest me because I'm on medication and I have children," the report said.

Lupinacci then instructed one of his officers to handcuff McDowell and take her to the station.

McDowell, who is a single mother of seven children, later told police she was on a medication called Xanax and turned over a few of the pills to police.

When police talked to Dexter Davis, the owner of the vehicle, who has had a child with McDowell, he told police McDowell borrowed the car earlier in the day.

Davis said McDowell came over to his apartment asking to borrow the car because she had to get Easter baskets for her children. Davis told police McDowell was involved in a separate car accident earlier in the day with a different vehicle, Lupinacci's report said.

McDowell appeared to police to be under the influence of drugs and made incriminating statements about her recent drug use, Sgt. Andrew Gallagher said Monday morning.

McDowell has a troubled history. In 2005 while attending a drug recovery program, McDowell told The Advocate for a feature story about the program that for a time she was a prostitute and gave up four children to the state because she was hooked on drugs.

She told The Advocate that after dropping out of Dolan Middle School, she began using hard drugs.

At her hearing Monday, the bail commissioner said McDowell has 51 criminal convictions since the 1980s for offenses including larceny, forgery, prostitution, disorderly conduct, drug possession and paraphernalia, escape, failure to appear at court and probation violations.

Police said the efforts of Officer Michael Wagner, the first responder to the crash scene, as well as Sgt. Lupinacci, and investigators Ed Davis and Rafael Barquero were instrumental in the rapid identification and arrest of McDowell.

This investigation is ongoing and being handled by Officer Jeffrey Booth.

Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the police department's Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad at police headquarters.